


The Ghost of You

by AllegroCrescendo



Category: Shall We Date?: Obey Me!
Genre: Blood and Gore, Broken Lucifer, Celestial War AU, Chapter 1 is all hurt, Chapter 2 is the comfort, Established Relationship, Gen, Gender Neutral MC - Freeform, Hurt/Comfort, Inspired by Music, Nightmares, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Pre-Canon, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:07:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26433877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllegroCrescendo/pseuds/AllegroCrescendo
Summary: How do you wage a war against God?You start with six overprotective older brothers.__________Or the one where Lucifer can't forget about Lilith's death.
Relationships: Lucifer (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Reader, Lucifer/Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 57





	The Ghost of You

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, hello, hello!  
> Allegro here~!
> 
> Small little interlude from Absolutely Infuriating to bring you a brainchild that has been living rent-free in my head for a while now. If you know me, you know I love My Chemical Romance. And their song ["The Ghost of You"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9f0Pkfp0xqg) is, in my humble opinion, the perfect song for Lilith's death. Plus, I just truly enjoy torturing Lucifer for angst's sake. Whoopsie. 
> 
> This ol' fic here is my take of the events of the Celestial War. Some of the dialogue is stripped straight from the game with my own added touches. 
> 
> I will **trigger warn** that there are graphic depictions of injuries that include stab wounds, burns, and tearing of bodily parts. If you are here for the comfort part of the hurt/comfort tag, please feel free to wait for part 2 of this fic. 
> 
> Alright alright, without further ado, I present to you part 1 of "The Ghost of You"
> 
> "And All The Smiles That Are Ever Gonna Haunt Me"

How do you wage a war against God?

You start with six overprotective older brothers.

“How could this have happened?” Asmodeus asks as he follows Lucifer down the golden halls of the Celestial Palace. 

“I couldn’t do anything. Both Michael and Gabriel intervened as she fed her lover an apple from the Garden of Eden,” Lucifer unconsciously clenches his teeth as he rounds a corner. 

“The Garden of Eden?” Asmodeus echoes in disbelief. “You surely must be joking. How could she have possibly gotten past Cherubim?”

Lucifer shakes his head. “It must have been a trial for her. The temptation to give in to her desire to keep a human alive. Father let her in on purpose. When Michael and Raphael descended, they bound her wrists with cuffs of gold and hauled her straight to the Palace throne room to face Father,” he clenches his fist and lets out a shaky sigh. “I pleaded for mercy on her behalf, but they refused to listen to me.”

“Lucifer,” Asmodeus steps in front of the marching man and stops him in his tracks. He places a hand on his shoulder. “You did what you could. Michael and Raphael combined...they easily overpower you,” Asmodeus touches Lucifer’s arm and the elder brother recoils from it, shocking Asmodeus. 

“We’re going to talk to Father. He can be reasonable about this,” Asmodeus reassured him. Lucifer studies his younger’s brother expression but judging by the uncertainty in his eyes, Asmodeus knows just as well as Lucifer that this is the end.

There were scores of angels who felt disgruntled with their Father’s rule, believing him to be too powerful and his demand that they all have unwavering faith in him to be too oppressive. After all, wouldn’t a good Father want to hear what his children had to say? But any and every complaint the angels had for their Father would be met with the same response. _Trust in me with all your head; do not depend on your own understanding._

Lucifer heard the gripes in the shady corners of the kingdom, questioning why they could not have their free-will or why they had to completely subjugate themselves to their Father. After all, if their Father loved them, wouldn’t he create them as perfect beings so they would not have to rely so heavily on him? Or was it his plan to keep his children beneath him so they had no choice but to serve him hand and foot?

And then there was the declaration that all angels were to bow to his son born to a human woman in the future. All angels will be forced to serve him as they serve their Heavenly Father. The human-born son, “King Messiah”, would save humanity from their sins, as if all angels had not been working to do just that. It was insulting that not only their labor went unrecognized, but also the angels that they would be forced to subject himself to such a human man as they did to their Father.

Lucifer could feel their anger, dangerously simmering beneath the realm’s harmonious ambiance. And he would be lying if he said that the same thoughts haven’t crossed his mind once or twice before. The thoughts, however, soon turned into whispered conversations over afternoon tea and discussions in the gardens, late at night while everyone else slept. For a long time now, the growing resentment threatened to boil over and ruin the harmony in the realm, and Lucifer and Asmodeus both knew now that this was it. 

This was the end. 

The two continue to the throne room with a determined silence falling between them. As they arrive, they see their four other brothers badgering with the angel guarding the front of the throne room. Lucifer instantly recognizes Joel and strides right up to him. 

“Not another step further, Lucifer,” Joel warns him, leveling his spear to block Lucifer’s path. “I’ve received strict orders from Michael himself to not allow anyone into the throne room while Lilith is on trial.”

“Joel, please,” Beelzebub steps forward, wringing his hands in front of him. “Think of Lilith, she’s surely afraid of being alone in there while she faces trial.”

“She's your sister, Joel,” Mammon speaks next, stepping towards Joel and gripping his shoulder. Joel shakes himself free of the angel’s grip and shakes his head stubbornly.  


“Orders are orders,” he says. 

Lucifer steps in between his brothers and Joel, crimson eyes burning with anger. “I outrank you, Joel. Take this order. Step. Aside,” Lucifer hisses. 

And Michael outranks you now that you’re defending a heretic,” Joel sneers at the taller angel, putting his bronze sword in between the two of them and fixing his challenging gaze on Lucifer.

“Joel,” Asmodeus steps forward next, putting his hands on the guard’s shoulders. “Joel listen to me. Listen to my voice and look into my eyes. That girl in there, she has committed no sin that cannot be forgiven,” Asmodeus’ voice is sweet and laced with his gentle persuasion. “Our Heavenly Father is forgiving. He loves us all. We are not your foe. Lay down your arm and be with peace,” he cooes to him.

Joel’s arms fall to his side and he stares at Asmodeus with his mouth agape as if he were in a trance. He furrows his brows and nods, completely fixated on the angel as he steps away from his post at the door.

“Asmodeus,” Leviathan breaths with wonder. “How are you doing that?” 

“I don’t know, and I don’t know for how much longer I can keep it up,” Asmodeus says, his voice still dripping with its intoxicating sweetness. “Hurry.”

“Mammon,” Lucifer turned to the second eldest angel. “Go. Gather everyone who has ever felt the same in the Great Garden. The time has come for us to finally force our Father to answer for himself.”

Mammon stares at Lucifer as realization slowly dawns on him. The other brothers shift nervously, and Lucifer sweeps his eyes across them all. There’s a nervousness in their posture but a determination that has decidedly settled in all their eyes. 

“I’ll go gather them all. All of you, be safe,” Mammon says before turning and hurrying down the hall and out of sight.

“For Lilith,” Belphegor says, stepping forward and summoning his lance. Lucifer and all his brother’s nod in agreement before Lucifer turns to the door and in a brilliant flash of light summons his armor and lance. It shines in its blinding, celestial glory, and the air crackles with energy as Lucifer raises his hand towards the large doors before him and summons a burst of energy to blow them open. 

The door explodes with Lucifer’s attack, golden shrapnel flying into the throne room. Michael is the first to react as he turns and arcs his arm in the air, summoning a shield over Gabriel and himself. Lucifer’s Father raises a hand and the shrapnel stops mid-air, dropping where they hovered.

“Lucifer,” Gabriel shouts, standing from behind Michael’s shield. “What is the meaning of this?!” 

Lucifer spots Lilith bound at the foot of their father’s throne. She turns to look at him, tears falling freely from her eyes and a desperate look on her face. As soon as their eyes meet, Lilith furtively shakes her head, her eyes silently begging him to flee, but Lucifer knows this is the right decision.

“Father,” Lucifer says, aiming his spear at his Father’s chest. “I believe it’s time we have a talk.” With a sharp cry that resounds throughout Heaven, Lucifer hurls his spear, and light fills the room as it explodes with his fury.

* * *

The sky is sickly grey color, layered with smoke, and tinted an infernal red color from the burning gardens throughout the realm. The smoke makes every breath hurts as it fills their lungs, poisoning them and making it nearly impossible to breathe without choking on their breath. Corpses of his fallen brother were strewn across the battlefield, blood drenching the once lush fields. Those who weren’t so lucky were banished from Heaven, flung into a crevice in the ground that cast them through the Earth and right into Hell. 

“Enough of this, Lucifer,” Michael demands from his place on a mound, his onyx-colored eyes filled with anger. His spear had broken in half, which left Michael to wield either piece in his hands while he fought against Lucifer. 

Lucifer himself was covered in wounds, his arms trembling with the effort of his fight against Michael. Even if he and Michael were created equal, it seemed that Michael was having significantly less trouble with their fight. Still, Lucifer refused to back down. His brothers had put everything on the line for this. He didn’t want to think of what would happen to them if their revolution failed.

“You’d allow yourself to become a lapdog to a human man?” Lucifer asks between pants. He wipes his forehead, smearing sweat with the golden ichor of his blood. “You’ve always been submissive, Michael. It’s pathetic.”

“Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall,” Michael says sternly. “End this silly rebellion and repent, Lucifer Morningstar. Father will forgive you.”

Lucifer grits his teeth. “Do you make me out to be a fool, Michael? For what I’ve done, I would be lucky if Father didn’t smite me on sight.”

Michael looks out at the chaotic scene before him. His eyes are distant, his golden curls, singed and battered, have fallen out of its usual braid and now frame his face and his robes are tattered and torn. His golden armor is dented from Lucifer’s relentless attacks. In his roughened state, he’s not the flawless image of Father’s favored angel that Lucifer came to know. Michael is a Warrior of the Lord first and Lucifer’s brother second. 

“Repent, Lucifer. We can work something out,” Michael demands a second time. “If not, I am not sure I can guarantee your place in the Heavens after all of this.”

Lucifer grips his spear tighter. “Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.” 

He rushes Michael, tucking in his wings and dashing directly towards him. As soon as he’s close enough, Lucifer stabs at his arm but narrowly misses him as Michael leaps out of the way hovering in the air a few feet above him. Lucifer leaps, despite the screams of protests from his aching muscles, and joins him in the sky, extending his wings around him and readying his spear again. 

“Beelzebub has consumed a pomegranate from the Garden of Eden, Lucifer. Even if his strength is helping you with this war, he will know an insatiable hunger once this is all over. Repent, Lucifer. For his sake as well,” Michael says, with an oddly soft edge to his voice. 

“Do not try and talk your way out of this fight because your spear is broken, Michael. After all, I’ve always been stronger than you,” Lucifer bites back. Without waiting for a reply from Michael, Lucifer attacks again, aiming his spear straight for Michael’s shoulder and charging towards him. 

Michael lifts a hand to stop the attack when Lucifer suddenly tucks his wings in and drops from his range, before shooting back up and driving his spear into the archangel’s shoulder. Ichor spurts from the wound as Lucifer withdraw his spear and aim for his heart next. 

Suddenly, Lucifer feels a thorned chain wrap around his ankles that drags him from his place in the air and hurtles him towards the ground. Lucifer gasps on impact as he feels something in his uppermost pair of wings crack with the force. A burning pain shoots up his leg as a Raphael appears above him, holding the hilt of the thorned whip wrapped around his ankles.

“Repent,” Raphael’s voice is nowhere near as soft as Michael’s. “Then I shall cast you down to the pits of hell and we shall see then what the King of the Devildom should like to do with a fallen angel,” he growls between his teeth.

Lucifer summons his sabre in his left hands and in one swift motion, swings at the chain binding his ankles together, before arching his sabre upward towards Raphael. Raphael summons his own sabre in time and catches Lucifer’s blade, driving it down towards him 

“My God, I am sorry for my sins with all my heart,” Raphael begins to recite as his entire form begins to emanate a mystic blue light. He extends his wings and drives his legs upwards towards the sky, using his weight to push his sabre against Lucifer’s and drive their blades towards his neck. “In choosing to do wrong, and failing to do good, I have sinned against you, whom I should love above all things,” Raphael prays.

Lucifer struggles against Raphael’s weight, grunting with effort as he drives their blades away from his neck. He can hear Michael’s pleas for them to stop as he races towards them, struggling with his wounded shoulder. Raphael had been safely commanding a brigade of archers, far from the frontlines, and had more strength and rage than both Lucifer and Michael combined.

In a blinding flash of white, a fourth angel joins their struggle, knocking Raphael off Lucifer and sending him tumbling, yards away. Lucifer leaps to his feet and readies his sabre at the newcomer, only to hesitate when he is met with the familiar face of Simeon.

Simeon pays no attention to Lucifer and instead turns to glare at Raphael, who is struggling to his feet. “Thou shalt not kill,” Simeon condemns the archangel, swinging his lance out in front of him. 

“This is a war, Simeon,” Raphael grits his teeth as golden ichor spurts from a head wound no doubt caused by Simeon’s blitz attack. “It is not only just, but necessary.”

“I cannot stand by and allow for you, an archangel, to disobey one of the Ten Commandments. There are other ways to go about this,” Simeon says firmly. 

“Then that is your mistake,” Raphael sneers at him before the two charge at each other and collide their weapons, sending sparks flying from the sheer force of their swing. Lucifer knows that Simeon is significantly weaker than Raphael; the latter outranks him as an archangel, but he was still amazed that Simeon had been so willing to jump into action to stop him.

Suddenly, Lucifer was knocked over. In his awe, he had forgotten about Michael, who had leaped into the air and used all of his weight to pin Lucifer to the broken ground beneath him Lucifer writhed under the angel’s weight, reaching for his sabre only a few feet away. Michael retrieves it first along with Raphael’s whip and binds Lucifer’s legs once more.

“Enough, Lucifer,” Michael shouts, breathing heavily. His forehead is beaded with sweat and his robes are soaked with his ichor. The wound from Lucifer’s spear is deep and severely weakening Michael. He’s desperate now, but he still has the upper hand on Lucifer. 

“Look, what you are fighting for is about to come to an end,” Michael says, motioning with Lucifer’s sabre to the battlefield.

Lucifer lifts his head. From where he is, he can Beelzebub and Belphegor standing back to back as they fight desperately, slashing, and hacking away at their Father’s army with their axes. Yards away, Lilith stands on the remains of a garden’s wooden bench, shooting a volley of arrows at an onslaught of foot soldiers with deadly accuracy. When her quiver empties, she tosses her bow aside and summons her sword, readying herself for the enemy.

Beelzebub shoots into the air with a horde of enemy angels following him and abandoning a wounded Belphegor. Raising a fist in the air, he summons his twin blades and soars throughout the skies, striking down angels with each of his slices. 

From up on a hill, he can see a new battalion of angels arrive, no doubt reinforcements for their father’s army. A line of archers at the front ready their weapons and aim at the enemies on the battlefield. Lucifer’s stomach sinks when he sees who they are aiming at. 

“Lilith! Belphegor!” He screams, clawing at the ground beneath him desperately as Michael presses his foot further into Lucifer’s back, keeping him pinned beneath him. 

Beelzebub, hearing Lucifer’s scream, turns to his two siblings, but quickly refocuses on the fight around him. He slashes at wings and arms with frightening fury, making it rain limbs, blood, and feathers. When the air around him clears, his enemies fall from the sky, dead, but he has virtually no time to react. He cannot reach both Lilith and Belphegor at the same time. Beelzebub must choose.

Lucifer’s eyes flicker to Lilith and he can see her lips move as she casts a spell. Lucifer’s blood runs cold. He doesn’t hear the word but can guess what she’s doing. It’s a guidance spell. She was influencing Beelzebub’s decision. 

Beelzebub glances down to Belphie as he staggers up, mediocrely healing his wound. Just as the volley of arrows begin, Beelzebub flies down and tackles Belphie to the ground, wrapping his wings around both and shielding them from the onslaught of arrows. 

They soar right over the twins and straight towards Lilith. She leaps out of the way, but the wave of arrows is too large for her to escape. One pierces her right through her wing and she collapses. Michael lifts Lucifer’s sabre in the sky and sends a burst of energy towards the wounded angel, creating yet another crevice in the ground only a few feet from her. 

Lilith staggers to her hands and knees, her entire body riddled with arrows as she fights to stand. Before she can, Gabriel descends from the sky with his spear in hand. He raises his head to look across the battlefield at Michael, who gives him a nod of approval. With a sign of the cross, Gabriel places his foot on Lilith’s side and pushes her through the fissure in the ground.

“LILITH!” Lucifer roars and with the last bit of his strength, summons the light from within him and expels it in an explosive shock around him, sending Michael flying. Adrenaline pumps through his veins as he soars towards Lilith, pushing his body to its limits and then further. 

Lucifer dives through the fissure, breaking through the Celestial realm’s first barrier, and races towards Lilith as she plunges towards the mortal realm below. He shoots through the clouds, leaving a trail of blinding light behind him as he raced to reach the falling Lilith. 

Lucifer is close enough to see the terrified look in her golden eyes as she pierces through clouds. Lilith tries to use her wings to slow her descent, but they’re useless in their wounded state. Blood gushes forth from the lacerations in her back as the dozens of arrows embedded in her wings push further into her during her descent, making her cry out in pain every time. Lilith frantically claws at the air in between them, sobbing and shrieking as she desperately tried to grasp any part of him. 

Lucifer’s heart pounds wildly in his chest as he folds his wings and wills himself to fly even faster. His wings are ablaze with the effort and a burnt scent chases him as he pursues Lilith. If _anything_ happens to her, then he wouldn’t be able to live with himself. Not when Beel sacrificed his temperance to a pomegranate from the Garden of Eden. Not when Levi raised the oceans against God himself and not when Mammon and Asmodeus rallied their soldiers, promising them free will and indulgences should they fight alongside them. Not when his fellow angels shot out of the sky all around him in flaming streaks, screaming in agony as they burnt to death, soaring through the heavens. 

This wasn’t happening. This wasn’t happening. 

This all couldn’t be in vain.

Lucifer stretches as far as he could, brushing his fingertips against Lilith’s and nearly grasping her hand. At that moment, they break through the Celestial Realm’s final barrier and enter the sky above the mortal realm. Lilith breaks into a freefall, tumbling through the air as she bursts into flames, and streaks through the sky in a fiery ball of light. Her shrieks rake against Lucifer’s ears as he watches helplessly with horrified eyes as she plummets headfirst.

Lilith hits the mortal’s Earth with such a force that she drives a hole straight through the ground, breaking through the mortal realm’s barriers and descending straight into the Devildom, and into the pits of hell. 

Lucifer dives right after her, not caring about Devildom visitation rules. Heat sears his skin as he emerges through the other end of the tunnel. Lilith’s flames tinge the Devildom’s permanent night sky a blazing red. Lilith’s impact formed a massive crater in the Devildom, scorching the field around it and razing anything and everything in its vicinity. Smoke rises from the crater as Lucifer dropped into it, collapsing to his knees in front of Lilith. 

“Lilith, Lilith, keep your eyes on me,” Lucifer collects her broken form into his arms.

Her impact had immediately put out her fire, but the entire left half of her body was already severely burnt and pieces of her skin peel from her face, hanging loosely from her face. Lucifer finds himself choking on a combination of the scent of burnt flesh and the toxic air of the Devildom.

Lilith’s breath is ragged, and her gold eyes are dim and far away. Her limbs are twisted at unnatural angles and the arrows had pushed straight through her and exited during her impact, tearing her robes, and soaking her in her own blood. The crimson liquid dribbled out of the corner of her mouth and nose and Lilith spasms in Lucifer’s arms. 

“Stay with me, stay awake. I’m going to do something about this, I’m going to help you,” Lucifer sobs, placing his hand on her forehead and begins to chant a healing incantation. He’s halfway through the opening verse when he begins to choke again, unable to stand the toxic air of the Devildom. Lilith mumbles some incoherently as she slowly begins to close her eyes.

“Lilith no! Don’t you dare close your eyes!” Lucifer rustles her gently in his arms to keep her awake. “Lilith think of Beel. Think of Belphie, just hang on,” his voice breaks. “I know you used a spell to have Beel save Belphie. Why would you do that?”

Lilith rolls her head to meet Lucifer’s eyes and Lucifer holds back another sob. They’re heavy with guilt and Lucifer knows what she’s thinking. He shakes his head and brushes away a lock of her blood matted hair away from her face. “It’s not your fault. All of this...it isn’t your fault. There was already so much tension in the kingdom,” he reassures her as tears begin to roll down his cheeks. “You don’t choose to fall in love.”

Lilith’s eyes threaten to slide shut again and Lucifer grabs her chin, forcing her to look at him. “Stay awake, Lilith. Do you hear me? Stay _awake_ ,” he commands her. 

How could he have allowed for this to happen to his beloved younger sister? Should he have stopped her and Belphegor from going down to the human world? Should he have intervened when Michael and Gabriel appeared in the human world to drag her away? What should he have done so he wouldn’t have to be holding his bloodied, dying sister in his arms?

“Lilith! Hang in there, Lilith,” Lucifer begs her. Her eyes stare right through him as ragged breaths tear themselves from her throat. He knows that he must do something, and quick, but the panic that fills him doesn’t let him think straight. “Lilith, don’t you die. Lilith! Don’t die on me,” Lucifer tries to replace the fear making his voice tremble with authority, but the sight of his mangled sister is making him lose his faith that something could be done. 

Images of Lilith before the war plague him. He thinks of the twins and Lilith, playing in the gardens, rolling down hills, and falling into the flowerbeds, crushing them beneath their weight. He remembers how she hangs her head as Michael scolds her, shrinking and Lucifer remembers thinking how much she looks like a troublesome puppy. He remembers dinners with her and the rest of their siblings, her loud, shrieking, laughter ringing throughout the grand dining room. Lucifer remembers the warmth of her hand as they stroll through town, her eyes sparkling at the sight of the confections in the window of the bakery. She was always such a messy eater, never failing to get chocolate on her nose or crumbs at the corner of her mouth.

Lilith’s body shakes violently as wet coughs rattle her tiny frame, blood oozing out of the corner of mouth pouring down the side of her face.

How could this have happened?

“I-I... s-so-.... sorr...y…” she rasps. 

“No, no you have nothing to be sorry about,” Lucifer tells her. Her eyes slide shut, and Lucifer’s throat tightens. “Hey...hey!” he calls to her, shaking her gently. “No... no... damn it, no! This can’t be! I can’t end like this! Lilith!” Lucifer shouts at the top of his lungs, trying to rouse her awake. He can see her eyes fight to open but he knows her strength is rapidly depleting. 

“How...how could I have let this happen?” Lucifer asks no one in particular as he tries his magic once more but knows it’s useless in the Devildom. 

“It’s not your fault,” someone says from behind him.

Lucifer’s entire body tenses and he whirls around, shifting Lilith into one arm and holding his other out, threatening to use whatever magic he could manage against the intruder. “Who’s there?!” 

The Prince of the Devildom stands before him in all his majestic glory. His golden eyes stare at him pitifully but his expression holds no hostility. Instead, it’s...concerned? The Prince’s butler stands next to him, his expression unreadable. They’re both silent and Lucifer grits his teeth.

“You two,” Lucifer growls, cradling Lilith against him protectively. The girl lets out a soft whimper as he jostles her and Diavolo’s brows knit. “Stay away,” he hisses.

“We mean no harm. We simply saw what seemed like a fireball descends into our realm and decided to investigate,” Diavolo holds his hands up innocently. “We truly mean no harm. Isn’t that right, Barbatos?”

“Yes, but I’m afraid her injuries look severe. She needs medical attention right away. If she’s exposed to Devildom air for much longer, she’ll likely perish,” the butler says gravely, touching a finger to his chin as he examines the battered Lilith in Lucifer’s arms. She doesn’t have long.” 

Lucifer’s breath hitches at Barbatos’ words. He turns to Lilith, who stares into the distance, eyes half-lidded and chest rising and falling frantically with her effort. He looks at her mangled body and looks around at his place in the Devildom. He knows he cannot fix Lilith. Not here. And Barbatos is right. If the Devildom’s air is making it hard for Lucifer, an archangel, to breathe, he cannot imagine what it must be doing to Lilith in her state. He looks up at Diavolo, his eyes burning with hatred, but the Demon Prince is silent, staring only at Lilith. Finally, Lucifer caves.

“Help…please,” he begs, his voice trembling and barely above a whisper. Diavolo meets Lucifer’s gaze and Lucifer finds himself rapidly losing his composure. “I beg of you, Diavolo...help her. Save my sister. I don’t care what happens to me. I can’t let her die. You have to help her,” Lucifer pleads, pressing Lilith closer to his body.

Diavolo exchanges a look with Barbatos and Lucifer feels himself growing impatient. “I know you have the means to do it!” Lucifer shouts at the Prince. “So, help her!

The Prince nods slowly. “Yes, I do have the means to help her. However, it may not be in the way you expect or necessarily desire,” he speaks slowly, choosing his words carefully. His gold eyes fill with resolve. “And if I am to do this, there are conditions.”

Lucifer looks at Lilith’s broken form. He can see her clinging onto her life by a thread, desperately trying to obey Lucifer’s commands. He moistens his lips and swallows thickly before looking at Diavolo again. “Conditions?”

The Prince nods. “You must pledge your loyalty to me, Lucifer.”

A shock runs through Lucifer’s body. He’s sick of being subservient. Being subservient to his Father is what got them in this position in the first place. He glares up at Diavolo, but the prince’s expression is stone-cold and serious.

“Young master…” Barbatos says from beside him, looking just as shocked at Lucifer. Is he not in on this scheme?

Diavolo crosses his arms over his chest. “I know what you’re going to say, Barbatos,” the prince begins, speaking to his butler but never once does his eyes leave Lilith’s broken form. Lucifer unconsciously tucks his sister closer to him, feeling her warm, sticky blood cake his arms. 

“I’m taking a big risk here,” Diavolo acknowledges. “The Celestial Realm has rendered its judgment, and I’ll be interfering with that. But,” his gold eyes flicker up to meet Lucifer’s and suddenly, he is no longer the Prince Lucifer knows him as. Suddenly, he is Lucifer’s last hope. “If I end up with you on my side, Lucifer, I’d say that’s a risk well worth taking. Wouldn’t you agree?” he asks, tilting his head. 

Lucifer grits his teeth. He weighs his options. A rebellion against his Heavenly Father surely wouldn’t be taken too lightly, but to think that the Prince of the Devildom would use Lilith’s life as an advantage over Lucifer makes his blood boil. “You’re suggesting I pledge my loyalty...to the son of the Demon King?” Lucifer laughs bitterly. “Me?!”

Lilith whimpers and his attention snaps back to her. She’s a shivering mess in Lucifer’s arms and he begins to weakly whisper an incantation to her placing his hand over her wound and silently begging his magic to work this far from the Celestial Realm. 

“I am sure there could be no greater disgrace to one such as you, he who was once celebrated as the pride of the Celestial Realm,” Barbatos touches a hand to his chin, momentarily breaking Lucifer’s concentration from his incantation. “However, before you make your decision, perhaps you might want to have a look at yourself?”

A chill runs down Lucifer’s spine at Barbatos’ words and suddenly, he’s painfully aware of the dull ache in his wings and. Descendance from the Celestial Realm through the Human Realm and plummeting straight into the Devildom has without a doubt taken a toll on his body, but more so his wings. He had been plummeting at such intense speed that his wings had taken much of the toll. 

Lucifer allows himself a wince of pain in front of the two demons as he spreads his wings. A horrible, burnt stench exudes from his wings now that they span their entire length, and he hesitates to look at them. Lucifer knew what a rebellion against his father meant. He knew the risks he was taking the moment he aimed his spear at his father’s chest. Lucifer knew that heaven would forsake him. 

Yet he couldn’t help the small, broken gasp that escapes him when he sees the upper and lower set of his wings scorched a pitch-black color with feathers hanging off their frame. Only his middle set of wings remain a pure white color, no doubt being protected by the upper and lower sets that burned first. He trembles at the sight of their charcoal color. “My wings, they’re black,” Lucifer says with disbelief. 

Diavolo nods solemnly in agreement and Lucifer turns to Lilith, clinging to life in his arms. “I see, so then I’ve…” he trails off, unable to focus with the loud beating of his heart in his ears. 

“You don’t have time to sit around trying to make up your mind,” Barbatos warns him. 

“Don’t you dare order me around!” Lucifer barks at him and Barbatos falls silent. Lucifer can’t imagine how pathetic he must look right now; a fallen angel cradling his dying sister in his arms, desperately trying to hold on to the last vestiges of his holiness that he clings to like a feral animal with his back to the wall. 

“Lu...ci...fer,” Lilith rasps out. Tears fill her eyes and she fights to move her head from side to side, whimpering frantically. Lucifer doesn’t need to hear her words to understand what she’s trying to say. He gives her a tearful smile and strokes her good cheek, shushing her and letting out low, shaky breaths. He holds her gaze and a silent understanding passes between the two of them. 

Lucifer takes Lilith’s hand, careful not to hurt her any further, and gives it a gentle squeeze. “I don’t need time to make up my mind,” he says to the two demons before him in a soft, yet firm voice. “I will stay true to my convictions.”

In his arms, Lilith begins to sob, though the sounds are hoarse, strangled, and periodically cut off by rib-rattling coughs as she chokes on a mixture of her own blood and the Devildom’s air. Lucifer rocks her through a fit of coughs and consoles her before continuing. “I’ve always done so, and I always will. That will never change, whether I am an angel or a demon!” Lucifer declares. 

He lifts his head and locks eyes with Diavolo, fighting back his tears. “Diavolo. I hereby pledge my loyalty and allegiance to you,” Lucifer announces.

The air around Diavolo shimmers as a sigil appears around Lucifer and Diavolo, illuminating the space around it a bloody red color. Diavolo’s eyes glow brightly as he hovers a hand over Lucifer’s face. “I accept your allegiance.” 

A blinding white light explodes between the two of them and Lucifer feels a burning energy wash over him. Voices whisper chants in his ears and he drops his head, and wraps his wings feebly around him and Lilith, cradling his younger sister protectively as he yells at the onslaught of demonic energy that washes over him, boiling his blood and slicing his skin. Lucifer’s once golden ichor flows onto the ground beneath him, seeping into the sigil that had appeared and made it shine even brighter than before. Heavy shackles of vermillion light appear at his wrists and around his throat, and he manages to look up to see Diavolo is the one holding the key. 

In an instant, it all stops, and the air around them is still. Lucifer pants heavily and hears Diavolo speak, although the sound is muffled. “It is done, then,” the Prince declares. 

Lucifer turns his gaze upwards towards Diavolo. Exhaustion fills him as every fiber of his being cries out for rest, but Lucifer fights the feeling. There is work yet to be done. “You’ve better save her,” Lucifer threatens shakily. 

“Of course, I will,” Diavolo says and there’s nothing in his voice to suggest otherwise. There’s only pity in his expression that nearly drives Lucifer insane. “Now it’s time for you to say your goodbyes.”

Lucifer fills with trepidation. He wants to protest, argue that he should be able to go with them and make sure that they save Lilith, but his tongue burns at the thought and his chest tightens as he struggles to breathe. _This must be the allegiance at work_ , Lucifer thinks. Instead of wasting his breath trying to fight it, Lucifer resigns himself. After all, Lilith has no time left. 

Lucifer leans over her frame and presses his forehead to hers. Few tears escape his eyes as he struggles to find his words. “Lilith,” his voice quivers, “No matter how far apart we may be, no matter how much time passes, and even if someday you are no longer yourself,” Lucifer strokes her cheek and chokes back a sob. 

Lilith tears flow freely now as Lucifer presses his lips against her forehead. “I swear I will never forget you. And I’ll always pray that you find happiness…. always,” he says, kissing her forehead one last time. 

“I love you, Lilith,” Lucifer tells her in a soft, private voice.

“It’s time,” Diavolo announces. He kneels in front of Lucifer and very carefully, takes Lilith from him. Lucifer lets out a pain-filled breath as he watches Lilith’s broken form hang limp in Diavolo’s arm. “I’ll take care of her, I promise,” Diavolo says. “But, because she is a celestial being, that means I would need something celestial to bolster her waning life force,” he says, looking at Lucifer with an expectant look.

“I don’t have my spear or my sabre. Perhaps my armor will work?” Lucifer begins to undo the straps of his chest plate. 

Diavolo shakes his head. “I need something biological.” His eyes flicker to the area behind Lucifer and morbid realization dawns on Lucifer. His middle set of wings, still a pearl white color and untouched from his fall, suddenly ache. His wings flutter apprehensively but he has no choice. 

“I understand,” Lucifer says, lowering his head and shifting into a kneeling position.

“Barbatos,” Diavolo calls, and the butler nods, stepping behind Lucifer. 

A shudder runs through Lucifer as he feels Barbatos’ foot on his back, right below where his middle set of wings sprout from the column of his spine. The butler’s gloved hands grip the fold of his wings and he nudges Lucifer’s spine with his foot. Lucifer falls forward, bracing himself on his hands and staring at the scorched, blood-stained ground in front of him. 

“Just breathe. It’ll be over soon,” Barbatos reassures him. 

Lucifer manages to take a sharp breath in when Barbatos suddenly drives his foot into Lucifer’s back and drags his arms back. A sickening _riiip_ comes from Lucifer’s back as pain shoots down his spine and ricochets throughout his body as his wings tear from his back. He can feel every inch of his wing shred itself from his back like snapping strings, stripping pieces of his flesh with it. Lucifer arches his back and a guttural scream tears itself from his throat. White-hot pain fills his body as his vision doubles and when the final inch of his wing is severed from his back, he crumples to the ground, wheezing painfully. 

Lucifer rolls onto his side, facing Diavolo and Lilith. Out of his peripheral vision, he can see Barbatos folding his bloodied wings with a stoic look on his face. “Save her,” he manages in between shallow breaths. 

“Follow the path and climb the hill at the end of it. The Demon Lord’s palace awaits at the top of it. Go there and clean yourself up,” Diavolo orders as he turns his back and walks away. “I must go now. While Lilith still has the strength to fight.”

Lucifer lies on the floor and watches Diavolo’s retreating back until it disappears from his sight. He curls into himself and waits for his breathing to even out. Whimpers occasionally escape him and his back still sears with pain. Adrenaline has finished running its course throughout him and was replaced by utter exhaustion instead, filling Lucifer to the brim with heaviness. Lucifer flutters his eyes shut and presses his hand to his forehead, smearing Lilith’s blood all over his face. 

Hopelessness fills him. He’s fallen from grace. So many angels weren’t as lucky and died as they plummeted from the Celestial Realm. His brothers, without a doubt, face the same punishment that he does. That is if they’re even still alive. Lucifer’s heart pangs with guilt as he wraps his arms around himself. A numb feeling settles itself alongside with grief in his heart, weighing heavy and making it difficult for Lucifer to breathe.

Lucifer lays shivering for what feels like an eternity. He wonders what this failed rebellion was all for. His Heavenly Father was all-powerful and omnipotent when it came to the behavior of his angels. Why then, did Lucifer believe he could beat him? Was his Father merely entertaining him for some sort of sick amusement? Did Lucifer and his army ever really have a chance? Even though his mind swirls with his dizzying thoughts, only one stands, shining above the rest.

Lilith is going to live. 

There is still something he must do. 

Slowly, Lucifer rolls onto his stomach and summons all his might before he pushes himself up onto his shaking arms. In the distance, he can see the dome of the Demon King’s Palace and his body remembers Diavolo’s orders. Moving one limb at a time, Lucifer drags himself towards the scorched trees that lined the perimeter of Lilith’s impact zone. His wings trail behind him heavily and Lucifer had to stop and allow himself to rest on his arms. His body screams with exhaustion and his mind begs him to stop, but Lucifer knows he cannot stop here. He has to keep going. 

Lucifer pathetically crawls until he’s at the base of a tree. His body slumps against its base as he gasps for air painfully. His head spins with his blood loss; the gashes the pact slit open all over his body, and the wounds he gained during the war still ooze his now crimson blood, no longer the golden ichor of the archangels. With a grunt of effort, Lucifer raises himself to his knees using the tree as support. Once he’s able to cling onto the trunk, he pulls himself to his feet, ignoring the stabbing pain in his back. Lucifer’s legs tremble as he leans against the tree, letting out another whimper of pain. 

After another moment of short rest, Lucifer pushes off the tree, quivering still, and begins towards the Demon King’s Palace. Lilith is going to live, which meant that he had to listen to Diavolo and all his orders. This was the very first one he was given. He had to see it through.

With one foot in front of the other, Lucifer stumbles towards the palace, leaving a trail of blood and burnt feathers behind him. Dark spots swim in his vision as he struggles towards the hill. He focuses his mind on other things instead of the pain, hoping that he’ll be able to distract himself from it. 

Lilith is going to live. But even then, the Celestial Realm had rendered its judgment, which meant that Lilith’s survival would have to be kept a secret from everyone. Including his brothers. 

Lucifer’s stomach drops as he stops short and nearly collapses again. He ignores the pain shooting throughout his chest and takes a deep breath. His brothers. His brothers were still fighting. Beel and Belphie surely knew what happened, but did the others? Last he knew, Mammon and Asmodeus were still corrupting angels to fight on their side, tempting them with lust and riches. And Leviathan was commanding the seas against their father, flooding plains in the Celestial Realm and unleashing chained creatures from the depths of the ocean to rampage on the battlefield. 

Lucifer needs to put an end to this before anyone else gets hurt. He flutters his eyes shut and summons the last of his strength to his fingertips. “Please,” he begs in a soft, shuddering voice before thrusting his arm into the sky, unleashing a brilliant streak of light that penetrates through the Demon Realm’s barrier and hopefully reaches his brothers in heaven. He knows that once they see it, they would understand only one message from it.

_Lilith is dead._

Lucifer collapses to his knees. Images of Lilith with his brothers fill his mind. Mammon used to always squeeze her hand whenever he was scared, and Lilith would giggle and reassure him that he would always be safe with her. Leviathan would always ask her to visit streams with him and the two would always hitch up their robes and wade into the waters, laughing as they splashed each other. They never failed to come home a soaking mess, which always prompted Michael to scold them for making a mess of the rugs.

Unable to find the strength to get back onto his feet, Lucifer begins to crawl again, following the path towards the hill upon which the Devil King’s Palace sat. He had to make it there. For Lilith’s sake. 

He remembers Lilith always insisting on braiding Asmodeus’ long hair, decorating it with flowers she had picked from the gardens. Asmodeus would then braid her hair into two long pigtails in return. Then, together, they would spend hours weaving flower wreaths for themselves and others, giggling loudly and making sure to match the flowers’ colors to the person they made the garland for. 

Lucifer collapses onto his stomach, panting heavily with his exertion. He isn’t sure how much more his body could physically take, and the palace was still too far away. It felt impossible. There is no way he could get there in his state. Even if having pledged himself to Diavolo finalized his fall and the Devildom’s air was no longer toxic to him, his lungs still ache after inhaling so much of it whilst still an angel. 

Still, he has to keep going. For Lilith. 

Lucifer can vividly picture her pouting face in his mind. He sees it alongside Beel’s tearful expression and Belphie’s pout. Lucifer had never liked scolding the trio much, but Michael insisted that good angels must not mow down entire rows of Celestial Roses, no matter how excited they got while playing. Once Michael was through with his lecture, Lucifer would always give the trio one last stern talking to before pulling them all into a group hug, eliciting bright and joyful laughter from them. 

Lilith’s laughter was like a symphony of bells. The sound fills Lucifer’s mind and he lets out a heavy breath. He would trade all the stars in the night sky and even his happiness to hear that sound again. Lucifer lets the memory of her laughter comfort him as he drags himself back to his feet. 

One foot in front of the other. That much he can manage.

Right now, Lucifer doesn’t have a choice. He must go on. 

For Lilith.

**Author's Note:**

> Uwaaaahhhhh poor Lucifer. 
> 
> There's just something about being able to strip a proud, powerful character to his most vulnerable form that just really gets me hehe. 
> 
> But I promise MC will come thru in the next chapter to make it all better.
> 
> (I'm hoping to have chapter 2 posted by tomorrow latest!)
> 
> Keep up with me on my [anitwt](https://twitter.com/softunravel)!
> 
> Kudos make my days and comments make them better!
> 
> Thank you for reading!


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